A man disguised as an old woman in a wheelchair threw a piece of cake at the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum and shouted at museum visitors to think of planet Earth.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said Monday that the 36-year-old man was detained following Sunday’s incident and sent to a police psychiatric unit. An investigation has been opened into the damage to cultural artifacts. Videos were even posted on social media showing a young man in a wig and lipstick who had arrived in a wheelchair and started throwing roses in the museum gallery to slack-jawed guests. Even though the cake attack left a white creamy smear on the class, the famous work by Leonardo da Vinci wasn’t damaged.
While the security guards were escorting the wig-wearing man away, he called out, “Think of the Earth! There are people who are destroying the Earth! Think about it. Artists tell you: think of the Earth. That’s why I did this. “
In 1911, the painting was stolen by a museum employee, and in 2009, a Russian woman threw a ceramic cup at it, smashing the cup but not harming the glass or the painting.
Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/31/man-in-wig-throws-cake-at-glass-protecting-mona-lisa.html
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1655670252325x697872460649771000/Man%20detained%20after%20throwing%20cake%20at%20Mona%20Lisa%20_%20NPR.pdf
The Paris prosecutor’s office said Monday that the 36-year-old man was detained following Sunday’s incident and sent to a police psychiatric unit. An investigation has been opened into the damage to cultural artifacts. Videos were even posted on social media showing a young man in a wig and lipstick who had arrived in a wheelchair and started throwing roses in the museum gallery to slack-jawed guests. Even though the cake attack left a white creamy smear on the class, the famous work by Leonardo da Vinci wasn’t damaged.
While the security guards were escorting the wig-wearing man away, he called out, “Think of the Earth! There are people who are destroying the Earth! Think about it. Artists tell you: think of the Earth. That’s why I did this. “
In 1911, the painting was stolen by a museum employee, and in 2009, a Russian woman threw a ceramic cup at it, smashing the cup but not harming the glass or the painting.
Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/31/man-in-wig-throws-cake-at-glass-protecting-mona-lisa.html
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1655670252325x697872460649771000/Man%20detained%20after%20throwing%20cake%20at%20Mona%20Lisa%20_%20NPR.pdf
